Wednesday, May 16, 2012

30 Day Challenge

Day 2: Five Favorite Things
[in no particular order]

1. Indoor Plumbing. 
Especially hot showers
and good toilets.

2. Taking naps & snuggling Tommy.
Oh let's be honest, ANYTHING with Tommy is my favorite.

3. Feeling inspired by all sorts of things in life to write.

4. Traveling to places I could never walk to.

5. Photographs of people.
Especially those I know and love.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

30 Day Challenge - Day 1

[Lauren Lytle Inspired ~]

Day 1: Five Facts About Me Most People Don't Know


1. I am generally a very content person, but I have these obsessive surges of desire to do things I don't know how to do every once in a while that drive me insane. Because well, I don't know how to do them. 


examples:
- write a children's book
- be a clothing designer
- be a blogger/writer that random people know about
- paint portraits
- have a master's degree worth of knowledge in my head


I get overwhelmed by these surges and for a while I feel like I'm starving to do this thing I've never done before! I have yet to feel satisfied by the time the surge leaves me. Sometimes it lasts days, sometimes months.


2. I love having things on the walls of my home that are too high for me to reach on my own. It means my amazing husband took extra time to decorate using our belongings. And it makes our temporary apartments feel like home. 


3. I am a terrible swimmer. But if given the chance, I'd become a mermaid in an instant. [of course the transformation would come with dolphin-like swimming skills.]There are few things I love more in nature than the ocean. I want to be a part of it.


4. I am excited to get really old. My skin has been in the "rosy-fire engine spectrum" since the stinking puberty thing happened. I am excited to have pasty white skin and actually have a use for blush. 


5. I starred in a movie during college that was made for some kind of film festival. I think it's smoldering remains have been buried in the heart of Russia. At least I hope so. 






Over the next month, you can expect bits o' this:


1. Five facts about me most people don't know
2. Five favorite things
3. Most embarrassing moment
4. A photo of myself 10 years ago
5. A photo of myself today
6. Favorite YouTube video
7. My dream house
8. What's in my closet
9. What's in my makeup bag
10. Picture of my shoes
11. Favorite recipe
12. Favorite animal
13. Favorite song
14. Something I made recently
15. Favorite scripture
16. Picture of the place I work
17. Three things I'm grateful for
18. Picture of my day
19. Picture of a good friend
20. Favorite city
21. Favorite quote
22. Something I could never get tired of doing
23. Picture of my family
24. Favorite movie
25. Dream vacation
26. Favorite game
27. A piece of art I made
28. Picture of my home
29. Something I'm saving up for
30.  A dream for my future



p.s. the first ice cream cone of the season was made in this house, this night. 


Sunday, May 13, 2012

"My Momma's So Awesome...." Day



It always creeps up on me.

But the ads for 
flowers and chocolate covered strawberries 
spring up like warning bells
and remind me every year about 7 days in advance.

This mothers day I am married, 
(a.k.a. "stuck in an adult ward")
but haven't started growing any people yet.
And yet I still get chocolate at church!
Score!

Tommy made me mashed potatoes
(consumed too quickly to snatch a picture, Nakies you understand).

And cream of celery soup from scratch.
Apes, you may be thinking "Ew, Tommy, celery?"
But it was delicious. 
I was supremely impressed. 

I ate so much I got unbelievably full and fell into a food coma
like unto thanksgiving.
SO GOOD.





Then I decided I wanted cake.

I wanted to bake a cake.

From scratch.


Nakies,
 Once upon another time,
Carly baked a cake from scratch
and it turned out so dense
that she could have killed someone with it
if she'd dropped it off her balcony.

She, and all the fair maidens,
had to eat it by putting each piece in a glass of milk
to coax it down their throats.

This time was much better.
: )

I even invented a topping.
Involving banana slices and brown sugar goodness.


Sweet sweet sweet.


Then Tommy and I rebuilt the Capital Building.
No big deal.



Except it has a lot of windows.


Check out that smile!


Under belly work, almost done....


Ta da!


Yeah, this is just me. 
Proof Nakies, proof.
I helped. 
Plus, that's my leg up there.



And then I stole the pictures off of Tommy's camera 
and blogged so much I think I'm good for 3 months.
Maybe?
No?


Well, Happy Mother's Day to me, I have the best husband ever : )

Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful Ladies!!


Take a Hike...Finally!

Most of you 
have heard of hiking "the Y" at BYU.
Well, there is in existence, 
an "R" at BYU-I.

And after living here five years,
Becca, Odie, Tommy, and I
finally hiked it!

It's on the side of a butte. 

Which is basically a mashed potato mountain
with a huge spoonful scooped out of the middle/top.

These things happen when mountains explode.



This is the view from halfway up


Becca, Odie, Carly, & Tommy = 1
Butte = 0

Victory!



There were lots of amazing caves all over the ridge top.
The bunnies have perfect houses up here. 
Every cave has a billion pockets and openings.




We sat in one cave that was right on the edge.

Becca's new "someone's taking a picture of me" face,
involves major facial excitement
and the sign language symbol for "more!".




You can't tell because I am so tall,
but that is a 50-90ft drop off behind my head.
It slops pretty steeply so we couldn't get an exact estimate.




Tommy was poking around a random cave at the top,
touched a natural rock shelf,
broke it with his amazing accidental strength,
and found a geocache!


We signed our names in its log book
and left a couple things inside.

A clothes pin that says "Jared"
and a joker card from Tommy's deck.


We're famous!



To Utah To Utah....

To build a fair deck!



A Christensen deck of course!


It was such a wonderful expedition 
out of Rexburg
and down to Utah!

We got to spend the weekend with
Merry and Ryan,
Renton, Eli, and Jory!

And we even got to sneak a visit from mom and dad steinkuhler!

Oh, truth truth truth 
I loved it all.

We are so blessed to have so many friends
and family in Utah so close to us. 
It's probably my favorite part of living in Idaho.


Hopefully we'll be able to come down again
and visit more friends and family :)



This is Tommy mid-scowl.
No pictures while he's being a genius
you know Nakies.



Nephews and ice cream.
Too cute!
Way to finish another book in the Book of Mormon!







Yep, I married well.

I got Tommy. 
Biggest blessing of my life.

Then I also gained every member of his family,
and lucked out even more.

I love being an aunt,
sister in law,
and daughter in law.

I love you all my Steinkuhler side of the family!



COOK OFF!!! ARRRRRRRRGH!! MANLY MEN!

It has come to my attention 
that when manly men get together
they do things that involve competition 
and eat things that induce heart burn.

My lover has joined a gathering of such men.

Clue #1:

Bowling/Stuff Face With Pizza

This was the fist activity of the ACMS
(architecture and construction management society)
a committee that Tommy-love joined over a year ago.


Clue #2:

BBQ Potluck

This was the second activity.
At which Tommy tried some macaroni salad.
He turned to a friend and said, 
"This stuff is terrible, don't eat it."
And his friend said, "...I brought that."

: ) 

(turns out he'd bought it from Broulim's 
and it was in fact terrible to all.
It has become part of the 
"Do you remember that horrible macaroni salad you brought..." 
jokes.)


Clue #3:

Pinewood Derby/BBQ

About 20 men created some of the most amazing,
(and in some cases ridiculous)
cars I've ever seen.

It was the comeback of all comebacks for every former scout in attendance. 


Clue #4:

Chili Cookoff/BBQ

My baby came home a few weeks ago so excited about this one : )
We need to go shopping to get ingredients for my chili Carly!
It was his first chili endeavor ever!

He was so excited, he couldn't wait 
 and made the chili a couple days in advance.

And he put in my new favorite 
Garbanzo Beans!!!


THE CHILI!



Tommy won 2nd place!!


THE PRIZE!


This is a really gorgeous set
(the picture does not do it justice)
of handmade tools
gold and wood.

There is a square,
an angler,
and a special cutting tool to score woodwork.

They are so pretty we are putting them up on the wall
until Tommy learns how to do more specialized woodwork 

: )



Two Nerds For a Picnic

Once Upon A Time, 
two nerds fell in love. 

And on a sunny April afternoon, 
though both were feeling under the weather,
they pushed up their spectacles 
and set off in their dreamy, red, subaru,
to Picnic.


They feasted on saltines.



And drank some bubbly to settle their stomachs.



And while they cuddled,
their glasses cuddled too. 



At one point, 
the taller one fed the wild life.

The squirrel's loved him 
as they leapt away with their treasures.




And with a sigh,
they packed up their rainbow blanket,
and what was left of the bubbly,
and walked away from their delicious afternoon escape
to less simpler things
like statics class and being indoors.

But held hands the whole way home.